From scenic routes to luxury trains: The new era of personalised rail travel is here

Rail holidays are evolving to provide more personalised travel experiences, from tailor-made European itineraries to luxury train journeys and emerging rail routes across Asia.

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

Picture an Italian summer rail journey beginning beneath the vaulted concourse of Roma Termini. Rome fills the first few days with the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, St Peter's Basilica, and the Trevi Fountain before the journey turns north.

The train slips out of the capital, trading ancient stone for Tuscany's cypress-lined hills, olive groves and ochre hill towns. Orvieto, Arezzo, and Cortona make natural pauses along the way, turning the stretch between major destinations into part of the holiday itself.

At Firenze Santa Maria Novella, Florence's historic centre is within easy reach. Brunelleschi's Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, and the Uffizi Gallery anchor the city, while Chianti's vineyards and Lucca's walls offer slower excursions beyond it.

From Florence, the railway heads north-east towards Venice, crossing the Apennines through mountain tunnels and valleys before reaching Bologna and its medieval towers. The final approach brings a change of scenery as the train crosses the Liberty Bridge into the Venetian Lagoon and arrives at Venezia Santa Lucia.

Venice rewards a slower rhythm. Gondolas thread through narrow canals, St Mark's Square and the Doge's Palace recall the city's mercantile past, and boats to Murano and Burano lead to islands shaped by glassmaking, colour and craft.

For travellers used to building holidays around flights, rail offers a different relationship with distance. The journey becomes part of the experience as cities, countryside and shifting landscapes unfold between destinations.

For South-east Asian travellers, that appeal is gaining traction. Railbookers Group, an independent rail holiday specialist, says small parties, typically families of two to four travelling together, alongside a meaningful share of solo travellers, made a number of European trips in 2025. The company arranges trains, hotels, sightseeing, and transfers as part of customised itineraries across Europe, North America and other destinations.

Railbookers launched its Asian operations in Singapore in October 2025. In February 2026, it appointed Nick Lim as vice-president for Asia as it expanded its regional operations. Its Asia portfolio now includes destinations such as Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore, alongside rail journeys in Laos and Vietnam itineraries that combine train travel with experiences across the country.

The company's proposition centres on customisation. Travellers can work with Rail Experts to add hotel nights, destinations, and different rail classes to an itinerary, building a journey around their preferred pace and interests.

That flexibility also helps with one of the more complicated aspects of multi-country travel. Ticketing systems, booking windows, seat reservations, and overnight services vary between countries and operators. When disruption occurs, Railbookers says its 24-hour global hotline provides support for travellers and agents, and that it re-accommodated more than 3,500 travellers last year following delays, strikes, and track works.

Where Singapore travellers are going

Europe continues to account for most of Railbookers' bookings, with Switzerland, Italy, and the Alps among its strongest destinations. The classic route linking Berlin, Prague, Vienna, and Budapest also remains popular.

For Singapore travellers, European rail journeys can represent a substantial annual holiday, while rail travel within Asia could offer shorter trips at other times of the year, said Lim. "Europe could be the big trip of the year, and what we are building within Asia is for the rest of the calendar," he added.

The company is also seeing interest in premium and luxury rail travel. Frank Marini, president and CEO of Railbookers Group, said luxury bookings account for an estimated 15 to 20 per cent of total regional bookings, a share he expects to grow with increased marketing.

Luxury rail sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from a high-speed hop between European cities. Here, the train is the destination, with lounge and dining cars, elaborate interiors, and high-end accommodation in historic or newly built carriages. "The experience includes dressing up for dinner, live piano music, and exceptional 'white glove' service," Marini said. "The food, sometimes created by Michelin-starred chefs, is a major highlight."

Luxury rail packages range from approximately US$4,000 to US$20,000 or more per person, Marini said, with journeys typically averaging about eight days and families and retirees among the customers.

The appeal of premium rail also extends to scenic services such as the Glacier Express and Bernina Express in the Swiss Alps, where the landscape is as important as the destination. Railbookers expanded its luxury portfolio in 2026 with multi-train journeys combining well-known luxury services with hotels and land-based experiences, including one 60-day itinerary linking eight luxury trains across nine countries and ending in Singapore.

Building the journey around the traveller

The shift towards customisation goes beyond choosing a departure date. Travellers can speak directly with Rail Experts or request an instant quote before shaping an itinerary around their interests, preferred pace, and available time. The company says its itineraries are also tailored to different source markets: a rail holiday in China or Japan designed for Asian travellers can differ from one offered to the US market, based on research into market-specific preferences, Lim said.

That approach reflects a broader change in how rail holidays are being packaged. A traveller might choose a familiar European route and add smaller cities, extra nights, or premium rail services. Another might build a journey around Japan's Shinkansen network, Vietnam's rail routes or a scenic passage through the Swiss Alps.

Becoming a rail expert on every train in every country, across national, luxury, and scenic services, is almost impossible, Marini concedes. "Over the course of 18 months we created our own AI LLM (knowledge-based system) called FasTraX-Every Answer-Every Time for an internal tool, so everyone can answer any question on rail," he said. The platform, supported by Railbookers curators, dynamically updates internal service teams with fresh information as conditions change. "Our customer service scores went through the roof, and the speed to answer and speed to call improved by 50 per cent," he added.

For travellers in Asia, the possibilities are expanding closer to home. Railbookers currently promotes journeys across Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, and other parts of the region, while its 2027 expansion will add Sri Lanka, South Korea, and China. The company is also planning "rail and sail" products in Asia and "river and rail" products in Europe, designed to smooth transfers between modes of transport. The destination still matters, but increasingly, the journey matters just as much.

The company works with STB-endorsed and authorised travel agents, including Chan Bros, EU Holidays, ASA Holidays, UOB Travel, and others.

Newsletter

Recommended Read

Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read

A single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day.